Transparent mounting frame for pictures



u. ROSVSI, 2,169,290

TRANSPARENT MOUNTING FRAME FOR PICTURES Filed April 6, 1958 I INVENTOB./Z Um 6;"70 F0 55/ BY @(XW ATTORNEY.

Patented Aug. 15, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE TRANSPARENT MOUNTINGFRAME FOR PICTURES Umberto Ressi, Milan,

Italy, assignor to Guido Perera, New York, N. Y.

3 Claims.

The present invention relates to mounting frames, and more particularly,to transparent mounting frames for mounting stamps, photographs andsimilar pictorial representations on sheets, boards and albums.

Heretofore, when it was desired to mount postage stamps on sheets orinto stamp collectors albums generally, asmall piece of gummed paper wasemployed having one of its ends pasted to the mounting sheet of thealbum and its other end pasted to the back of the postage stamp. Ofcourse, this conventional procedure had various disadvantages. Thus,when the gummed tape did not stick well enough to the stamp or to thealbum sheet, stamps were easily lost. On the other hand, when the gummedtape provided good and strong adhesion of the stamp to the album sheet,the stamp was difficult to remove from the sheet. Frequently, valuablestamps were seriously injured or torn during the removal thereof.Moreover, the upper pictorial surface of the stamp was unprotected andwas exposed to dirt, moisture and similar detrimental agencies. Ofcourse, the removal of the stamps from the album for the purpose ofcloser inspection or exchange was a delicate and troublesome operation.The same was the situation in connection with the mounting ofphotographs or snapshots in albums. When the photographs werepermanently mounted on the sheet or page of the album by means of acementitious agent, they could not be removed from the album and if theywere merely held by means of small cardboard strips at the edgesthereof, as it was customary in many cases, they would readily fall outand were frequently lost. In both cases, the photographs were exposed todirt and dust and did not retain their attractiveness for any length oftime. Although various suggestions and proposals were made from time totime to solve the outstanding problem and to provide the art with asimple and safe mounting frame or device for stamps and pictures, none,as far as I am aware, of these various suggestions and proposals wascompletely satisfactory and successful when carried into practice on apractical and commercial scale.

I have discovered a simple and completely satisfactory solution of theoutstanding problem.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a mounting devicefor stamps, pictures and the like, which is free from the disadvantagesof conventional mounting devices and methods.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a novel andimproved mounting frame for mounting photographs and stamps on a sheetor in an album, which is capable of securely holding the mounted articlein a fixed position, in which it is fully exposed to view but is at thesame time fully protected from dust, dirt, and moisture.

It is a further object of the invention to provide an improved mountingframe for mounting pictures, involving a framed transparent elementattached to a sheet-like member underneath which the picture may beinserted and securely held in a position in which it is both fullyvisible and is fully protected from injury and from which it may beremoved at a moments notice without the danger of injury to the picture.

The invention also contemplates a novel mounting device or mountingwindow for the preservation and exhibition of stamps, photographs andsimilar pictorial, articles which eliminates the necessity ofcementitious agents being applied to the back face of the article to bemounted, and in which the article may be mounted into and may be removedfrom at a moments notice.

It is likewise within the contemplation of the invention to provide anovel and improved transparent mounting frame for mounting pictures suchas photographs and stamps in albums which is extremely simple inconstruction, and which may be manufactured from strips of sheet-likematerial by means of a few simple operations at a low price.

Other and further objects and advantages of the present invention willbecome apparent from the following description taken in conjunction withthe accompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 illustrates a top elevational view of a preferred embodiment ofthe present invention;

Fig. 2 depicts a vertical sectional view taken on line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 shows a similar sectional view of a modified embodiment of thepresent invention;

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of a transparent cover plate which may beemployed in the mounting frame embodying the invention;

Fig. 5 illustrates a mounting strip for stamp albums and the like,embodying the invention, and having mounting frames or windows for threestamps;

Fig. 6 depicts a strip for the manufacture of a plurality of mountingframes;

Fig. 7 shows the strip depicted in Fig. 6 after the first manufacturingstep involving the provi sion of square C-shaped incisions;

Fig. 8 is an elevational view of the mounting strip after the insertionof the transparent cover plates; and

Fig. 9 is a bottom view of the strip shown in Fig. 8.

Broadly stated, according to the principles of my invention, I provide abase or mounting plate constituted of a sheet-like material such as, forexample, paper, cardboard or asuitable textile material having strengthand some flexibility. In this base, I provide one or a plurality of incisions of such character as to substantially surround the article to bemounted. I prefer to provide these incisions in the form of a square 0,although, of course, it is possible to employ incisions of a differentshape, such as a semicircular or polygonal shape. I prepare a piece of atransparent sheet-like material such as Celluloid, Cellophane or someother transparent film of a flexible character having a size slightlylarger than the frame or window provided in the base by the incisions,except one side thereof. In case the incisions are of a square 6 shape,it is preferred to provide the transparent plate of sheet-like materialin a rectangular form to provide a transparent cover plate. This coverplate is introduced in the window so that it extends. out of the uncutside of the window itself. Hereafter, the complete structure is cementedwith its back to a suitable backing plate and pressure is applied to thecomplete structure so that the edges of the transparent film will showthrough the base in the form of a slightly raised line.

A plurality of finished mounting frames of the described character maybe provided on a single strip of backing plate or on the sheet of analbum. I prefer to slightly bend up the visible edge of the rectangulartransparent sheet to facilitate the insertion and the removal of thepictures into and from the frame which may best be accomplished by meansof a pair of tweezers.

The invention will now be more fully described to those skilled in theart, reference being had to the accompanying drawing.

Referring more particularly to Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawing, a preferredembodiment of the invention into a picture mounting frame isillustrated. Essentially a base I constituted of paper or of a textileor other appropriate sheet material is provided having a square C-shapedincision 2 made therein. This incision produces a frame portion 3 and atongue portion r which, however, remain integrally connected. Betweenthis frame portion and tongue portion is inserted transparent coverplate 5 constituted of Celluloid, Cellophane or of some othertransparent and flexible material. Cover plate 5 is preferablyrectangu.- lar and is of such size that three of its longitudinal sidesare slightly longer than the corresponding edges of frame portion 3whereby a slight overlapping marginal portion 6 of generally squareC-shaped form will extend underneath the frame portion and above thetongue portion. Frame portion 3 is slightly raised from the surface toprovide space for the three edges of transparent cover plate 5 and forthe article to be inserted. As it appears from Fig. 1, this frameportion is of a distinct width and in addition to providing space foraccommodating the edges of the cover plate and the article to beprotected, also imparts an attractive appearance to the finishedproduct. Preferably, a suitable backing surface or sheet I is providedwhich can be a sheet having approximately the size of the completestructure or it can be of a much greater size such as the sheetplurality of mounting frames may be provided. On this backing sheet iscemented or pasted the complete structure in such a manner that the baseI including tongue portion 4 and the back surface of the C-shapedmarginal portion 6 of cover plate 5 are all cemented to the backingsheet or page whereby the slightly raised base, mounting frame and thetransparent cover plate are permanently held in a fixed position. Inthis fixed position, a small opening or mouth 8 is provided between thebase and the free edge of cover plate 5 through which a picture or stamp9 may be introduced into the space defined by the top surface of tongue4 and the bottom siu'face of the cover plate where it is retained byfriction. The insertion and the removal of the picture is accomplishedby means of a pair of tweezers.

I have found that the insertion of the picture into the mounting pocketprovided between the tongue portion and the cover plate is greatlyfacilitated if the free edge portion of the cover plate is slightly bentup. This type of construction is shown in Figs. 3 and 4. As it will bereadily observed from these figures, the marginal portion H! of coverplate H is bent up to form an inclined surface which is capable ofacting as a guide for the insertion of the stamp or picture El into themouth of the mounting frame.

Preferably, a plurality of mounting frames embodying the principles ofmy invention are provided on a single sheet or backing plate such as thepage of a stamp or picture album. Of course, the mounting framesprovided on a single sheet or page may be of different size and shape inorder to accommodate pictures of various sizes. Likewise, the mountingframes may be provided in a plurality of rows, as those skilled in theart will readily understand. An arrangement of this type is depicted inFig. 5 in which three mounting windows or frames are shown which arearranged in a juxtaposed position.

I have found that the mounting frames embodying the principles of myinvention may be manufactured in a simple and efficient manner from asheet-like material in the form of a strip of tape by means of a fewsimple and inexpensive operations. The manufacturing steps will be bestunderstood by referring to Figs. 6 to 9. In these figures, Fig, 6illustrates a portion of the tape or strip !2 employed in themanufacturing process. As it can be seen from Fig. 7, the first step inthe manufacturing process comprises providing incisions in the strip inthe form of square Cs 53 which will provide integrally formed tongueportions l4 and frame portions l5 in the strip. Frame portions l5 areslightly raised from the surface to provide space for the edges of thecover plates and for the articles to be inserted, as it will bedescribed hereinafter. Between the tongue and the frame portions areinserted individual cover plates 36 which have been prepared sepa ratelyand cut to an appropriate size, as it has been explained more fullyhereinabove. This stage of the manufacturing process is shown in Fig. 8.As it will be readily observed from Fig. 8, the marginal portions ll ofcover plates l6 are underneath the frame portions l5 of the strip. Onthe other side of strip l2 (Fig. 9), marginal portions ll of transparentcover plate l6 protrude beyond the edges of tongue portion M whichremains integrally connected with the strip. Thus, a suitable backingstrip (not shown) having identical or slightly larger dimenor page of apicture or stamp album on which a sions with the base strip 12 may bepasted to the back of the strip and will hold the transparent coverplates in a fixed position. Preferably, after the pasting or cementingoperation, some pressure is applied to the upper surface of the finishedstrip which will cause firm cementation of the various elements of thestructure and at the same time provides a slightly raised frame portionof distinct width around the transparent cover plate. The finishedproduct is illustrated in Fig. at a slightly larger scale than in Figs.6 to 9. Stamps l8 are inserted underneath the cover plates and areretained by friction. Reference character l9 denotes the slightly raisedframe portion of distinct width around the cover plate providing anattractive, window-like structure. Of course, any number of individualpockets or windows may be provided in a single strip of suitable length,the strip being subsequently cut into individual units having thedesired number of windows therein. The units are pasted in an album in aplurality of rows on each page, as those skilled in the art will readilyunderstand. Instead of providing the structure with a backing stripprior to pasting it into an album, it is also possible to omit thebacking strip, and to paste the base strip directly on the page of thealbum in which case the page itself forms the backing surface holdingthe various elements together.

It will be noted that the mounting frames embodying the principles ofthe present invention provide a number of important advantages. Thus,the mounting frames of the invention will hold pictures, stamps andphotographs protected from external contact, dust and injury. As nocementitious agents are applied to the back of the stamps orphotographs, they may be inserted into the frames or may be removedtherefrom at a moments notice.

t is also to be observed that the mounting frames of the invention havea very attractive appearance and show each stamp or photograph asinserted in an individual and appropriate frame. Of course, this greatlyenhances the appearance of any collection of stamps or of photographs.

Moreover, due to the extreme simplicity of structure and the facility ofmanufacture, the mounting frames embodying the invention may bemanufactured and sold at a very low price.

Although the present invention has been described in connection with afew preferred embodiments thereof, variations .and modifications may beresorted to by those skilled in the art without departing from theprinciples of the present invention. I consider all of these variationsand modifications as within the true spirit and scope of the presentinvention as disclosed in the present description and defined by theappended claims.

I claim:

1. An individual mounting frame for pictures comprising in combination,a substantially quadrangular base of a fiexible and sheet-likecharacter, three incisions in said base parallel to three side edges ofsaid base respectively and forming a substantially square C-shapedcontinuous slit therein for a single stamp, and a substantiallyrectangular transparent film having dimensions somewhat larger than thewindow defined by said incisions having three of its edges inserted insaid slit to form a transparent cover plate therefor and having itsfourth edge free for the insertion of a. picture underneath said coverplate, the margin of said slit in said base being slightly raised andbeing adapted to form a frame for said window and the extreme edges ofthe back side of said base being adapted to be cemented to a supportingsurface for holding said base and said cover plate in a fixed position.

2. An individual mounting frame for pictures comprising in combination,a substantially quadrangular base of a flexible and sheet-likecharacter, three incisions in said base parallel to three side edges ofsaid base respectively and forming a substantially square C-shapedcontinuous slit therein for a single stamp, and a substantiallyrectangular transparent film having dimensions somewhat larger than thewindow defined by said incisions having three of its edges inserted insaid slit to form a transparent cover plate therefor and having itsfourthedge free and bent up to a slight extent to facilitate theinsertion of a picture underneath said cover plate, the margin of saidslit in said base being slightly raised and being adapted to form aframe for said window and the extreme edges of the back side of saidbase being adapted to be cemented to a supporting surface for holdingsaid base and said cover plate in a fixed position.

3. An individual mounting frame for pictures comprising in combination,a substantially quadrangular base of a flexible and sheet-likecharacter, three incisions in said base parallel to three side edges ofsaid base respectively and forming a substantially square C-shapedcontinuous slit therein for a single stamp, and a substantiallyrectangular transparent film having dimensions somewhat larger than thewindow defined by said incisions having three of its edges inserted insaid slit to form a transparent cover plate therefor and having itsfourth edge free and bent up to a slight extent to facilitate theinsertion of a picture underneath said cover plate, said structure beingadapted to be firmly pressed against and to have the extreme edges ofsaid base cemented to a supporting surface whereby the margin of saidslit in said base will form a frame for said cover plate andsaid baseand said cover plate will be held in a fixed position in which the edgesof said cover plate will show as a raised line on the top surface ofsaid base and will define a frame portion of distinct width thereon.

UMBERTO ROSSI

